Well I got American Honda to pay 50% of the cost for replacing the top on my MY00. I thought that I could get the glass window but apparently they can't do it because the frame is different. Oh well, excited anyhow. It should be about a week before it is on.

 

Great

 

Congrats James, glad to hear it.

 

How much does the whole job cost?

 

$1644

 

You can put a new top on an old frame but it requires a little mod of sorts. Being a dealership, etc. they won't do that install for sure.

Lbsypher has an '01 with a newer top though. I have an '01 as well but ended up replacing the top and frame a few months ago with an '05.

Glass is much clearer obviously but the plastic is a much bigger window so it's a lot easier to see stuff. You can buy some tint from Home Depot for like $30 or something and cut a piece to lay on the outside (not inside like you would think) of the window to help protect plus finish off any tint work you've already done.

Other than tint you'll just need a sharp blade, a squeegee, and a spray bottle with a mix of water and something like baby shampoo. You can make a template with some poster board, then cut the tint accordingly, lay it on your cleaned rear window, and squeegee away. The tint will shrink a little bit after a few days in the sun but you also don't want the tint to overlap onto the fabric part of the top. It'll bubble up like crazy on you if you do that.

Every once in a while, especially the first few days you might get a bubble. Just wet the area a little bit and whip out the squeegee and you should be as good as new. Also keep the well behind the seats that the top goes down into clean but also throw a soft towel or two back there. Probably black so you can't really see them if that's the color of your interior. That will help cushion the plastic window from being scratched from that side as it rolls up and down in the well.

I had my 01 like that for a couple years with great success. If you end up scratching it or something then you'll have the balance of the roll you bought plus your new fangled template to make another.

Just my 2 cents but also...congratulations on the new top.

Shay

 

Thanks Shay, I really appreciate the advice. I am going to do that stuff. I want to make my plastic last and be as clear as possible for as long as possible. I can't believe I haven't even thought about the towel in the well. I probably won't put the top down for like a month. I was wondering if there was anything that I could do.

James

 

James,

You're mighty welcome. That's why I love this site. I wish I had known about it when I first got my car 4 1/2 years ago. If I had I wouldn't have known to do the stuff I'm telling you about, would have chosen the correct rims the first time around, would have known about using Zaino to give the car an extra bling, etc., etc. S2ki is the stuff.

BTW, Muz (one of the site sponsors) sells a covered pad for the well if you want to spend a few bucks. I went cheap and literally threw a couple black towels back there. You never see that area anyway especially if you tint the window.

Shay

 

Shay, can I get to the Muz stuff from here and get the S2ki discount, or do I have to just go to there site?

 

We used to get a discount if I remember correctly. Go to the advertiser/sponsor part of the site and go in from there. Don't forget to check the currency calculater before you buy something though.